Intermittently the name "Grace" has been mentioned in this Chamber. Deputy Deasy has campaigned with compassion and determination to bring her story to light. Daniel McConnell, Fergus Finlay, Colm Ó Mongáin and others have done much work they can be proud of too. Over the weekend we heard more about the appalling mismanagement of Grace's case. On the "This Week" programme, it was revealed that the HSE did not contact the Garda about making public the two reports into Grace's care until three years after those reports were completed.

Yesterday, we heard for the first time from Grace's mother. She was a young single mother in the late 1970s. The Taoiseach has referenced that sort of person and the attitude of this country to that sort of person in his previous replies. She kept in touch with the South Eastern Health Board and regularly called for updates on her daughter's welfare. Here we have a young woman who was reassured that Grace was happy attending day services in a loving, caring home. As she said yesterday, "that made me happy knowing that she was happy and that's what I was made to believe".

The State failed a young woman. Along the way whistleblowers were cast aside. Visible bruising and sexualised behaviour were ignored.

This young woman was abused, beaten, denigrated and the State acted as a facilitator. For eight years, Grace's mother has gone through a living hell, knowing the level of depravity that was meted out to her defenceless daughter. For all of that time, the State agencies concealed the full extent of the truth from her. The greatest harm, of course, was done to Grace herself.

Apologies for historical ill-treatment have become more commonplace in recent years. Yet, here we stand again today. Apologies repeated over time lose their impact and their meaning. Historical recrimination and remorse can sometimes conclude in a line in the sand, but not in this case. Grace was not protected until 2009, while reckless endangerment was made an offence in the State from 1997. The Children Act 2001 created an offence for any person who had custody, charge or care of a child who wilfully allowed a child to be assaulted, ill-treated, neglected, abandoned or exposed in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to the child’s health or well-being.

Will the Taoiseach confirm that the terms of reference of the commission of inquiry will cover the care received by all children in this particular foster home? Conor Dignam recommended under the heading, “Care and Decision Making in respect of Others”, a commission should investigate a range of matters broader than the Grace case. These included all claims made in the protected disclosures that gave rise to the inquiry, the care received by all persons placed in that foster home, including whether they suffered abuse and whether the Health Service Executive knew, and the use of this placement by another unnamed person. The proposed terms of reference must not seek to shut the door on these matters, or, at least, try to postpone the proper inquiry to a later date.

Second, will the Taoiseach explain to the House whether a criminal investigation into this case is now under way?

This is another horrendous case. It is an appalling case of a young life with the challenges which Grace faced. I listened to the voice of her mother this morning, as many others did. The Deputy and I, and everybody else, have a duty to sort this. Are we continuously to stand here to deal with the consequences of the sins of those who went before us? I thought we had come to within sight of the end of these but obviously not.

The Deputy asked two questions. My understanding is that there is still a criminal investigation going on. There was some confusion about whether that would be disruptive of these reports being published. The matter has been cleared and they have been published in redacted form.

The second question the Deputy asked was in respect of the recommendation of the Dignam report that there may be others in this foster home for whom there should also be an investigation. I can inform the Deputy that the Cabinet approved both the order to come before the House and the terms of reference which will be brought through by the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath. These were fully approved by Cabinet today.

One of the conditions of the terms of reference will deal with the question the Deputy asked. Without taking from the Minister’s opening statements on this, in respect of any facts established by the investigation’s terms of reference, it will also allow for the specification of the scope of any further investigations which the commission considers to be warranted in the public interest. This would have regard to the facts and information established in its possession, including the report by Conor Dignam SC in his review of certain matters relating to a disability service in the south east of 29 August 2016 and his recommendations regarding the areas to be examined by a commission of investigation, which were referred to in chapter 4 of his report, including care and decision making in respect of others, which was referred to in pages 306 and 307 of his report.

The intention is to deal, in the first instance and as the Minister will outline, with the horrors inflicted on Grace and the answers to the many questions that the Deputy and so many others have asked. I commend Deputy Deasy, who is not in the Chamber but who raised this matter on a number of occasions. I also commend Deputy McGuinness, who also raised it. The terms of reference allow for an expansion, if that be considered appropriate, by the commission, both arising from the facts and information it has and taking into account what Mr. Dignam, SC, said in his report.

Grace was the person longest resident in this foster home - she lived there for 20 years or more - but she was probably also the one least able to complain. She is still not in a position to give her account of what happened to her. Meanwhile, there are 47 other directly contemporaneous witnesses. It simply makes no sense that this should not be all taken in one investigation if there are contemporaneous witnesses who will be able to cast light in a way that Grace unfortunately will not be able to do. An article in The Irish Times requests that the commission "will be given the authority to expand and intensify the investigation". An RTE report states that it should specify the scope of any further investigations the commission considers warranted. Will the Taoiseach tell us specifically what are the terms of reference in regard to the 47 other individuals who were also notionally under the care of the South Eastern Health Board or the HSE and placed in this particular home?

I do want to go through all of the terms of reference that the Minister will outline-----

Just those in regard to the 47 other individuals.

----and that will obviously be published. They are set out in 11 different sections and are quite detailed. They take into account the circumstances, the actions, the purpose and the questions that so many people have asked about this matter. My understanding is that the Minister, in making his announcement, will be able to confirm that the sole person in charge of this investigation will be able to do the job quite expeditiously in respect of Grace and, hopefully, answer all of these particular questions.

As I said to the Deputy, one specific term of reference deals with the report on the review of the services in the area by Conor Dignam, SC, and allows for that to happen. Obviously, there is a process involved, as the Deputy will know, but the commission will have the capacity to expand beyond the Grace case if it considers that is warranted based on the evidence it gleans, on the facts that it has and the information that it obtains. From the Minister's point of view - and that of Grace's mother the first matter to be dealt with is that case and all those issues that were raised on so many occasions over the years.